Bundesliga starts its jubilee season

A traditional arena and two highly traditional clubs - this is the setting for the official opening game of the 50th anniversary season of German Handball Bundesliga DKB HBL on Sunday.

In Dortmund, where the league was founded in 1965 (two years after German football Bundesliga), the two clubs with the longest tradition will face each other.VfL Gummersbach have been part of the league for all 50 years, while THW Kiel missed just one season and are record champions with 20 titles.

Tight fight for the trophy with usual suspects

While Gummersbach put the reset button in the previous years after some financial turbulences, THW Kiel are one of the biggest contenders again for defending the title.

The three times EHF Champions League winners (2007, 2010, 2012) are supposed to have a tight fight for the trophy with their usual suspects - the VELUX EHF Champions League participants Rhein Neckar Löwen (runners-up of the previous season) and SG Flensburg-Handewitt (VELUX EHF Champions League champions in 2014 and third ranked in Bundesliga in the 2014/15 season.

In addition, defending EHF Cup winners Füchse Berlin, SC Magdeburg and Frisch Auf Göppingen (all three part of the new EHF Cup season) hope to attack the top three ranking.

Although some world stars like Momir Ilic, Iker Romero, Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson or just this week Filip Jicha have left Germany for their new clubs abroad, Bundesliga director Frank Bohmann still believes that Germany has the strongest of all handball leagues in Europe.

“When it comes to the width there is no league stronger than ours. And the fact that some stars left gives space for young German talents and proves that other clubs have improved their financial abilities,” Bohman said to ehfCL.com on the fringes of the German Super Cup (Kiel beat Flensburg by 27:26).

“But we would like to see stronger and more equal leagues all over Europe,” he added.

In terms of international success, Bundesliga had set remarkable marks since its start - and Bohmann is sure that those successes will continue in future.

“All three German participants can make it all the way to Cologne in the Champions League, even though some opponents have bolstered their squads. We are still in the race for all international competitions, proved by the results of the previous decade.”

Harvest of European trophies

Since the implementation of the European Cup competitions by the EHF in 1993, an overall of 34 trophies were won by German clubs - including six titles in the EHF Champions League by four different teams between 2002 and 2012.

In 2007, 2010 and 2012 all major EHF club competitions (Champions League and the old versions of EHF Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup) were taken by German clubs.

The most remarkable German dominance was seen in the old EHF Cup: Between 2004 and 2012, only German clubs took the trophies. In the last three seasons of the old Cup Winners’ Cup all winner were from Germany. Since the competitions were merged to the new Men’s EHF Cup, two of three winners (Löwen and Füchse) were from Germany. Four of six winners of the VELUX EHF FINAL4 in Cologne since 2010 are from Bundesliga.

Besides Champions League record champions FC Barcelona, SG Flensburg-Handewitt are the only club to win all three major competitions at least once, and they are even more successful as the Catalans, as in addition SG are on the winner’s list of the former City Cup.

The list of successes of German clubs in men’s EHF club competitions:

Six titles by four different clubs in the EHF Champions League since 2002 - including four of six trophies at the VELUX EHF FINAL4 since 2010: SC Magdeburg (2001/02), THW Kiel (2006/07, 2009/10, 2011/12), HSV Hamburg (2012/13), SG Flensburg-Handewitt (2013/14)

Two of three trophies in the reformed EHF Cup (since 2012/13): Rhein Neckar Löwen (2012/13), Füchse Berlin (2014/15)

14 titles by eight clubs in the old version of the EHF Cup (1994-2012): SG Flensburg-Handewitt (1996/97), THW Kiel (1997/98, 2001/02, 2003/04), SC Magdeburg (1998/99, 2001/01, 2006/07), TUSEM Essen (2004/05), TBV Lemgo (2005/06, 2009/10), HSG Nordhorn (2007/08), VfL Gummersbach (2008/09), Frisch Auf Göppingen (2010/11, 2011/12)

Six titles by four clubs in the old version of the Cup Winners’ Cup (1994-2012): TBV Lemgo (1995/96), SG Flensburg-Handewitt (2000/01, 2011/12), HSV Hamburg (2006/07), VfL Gummersbach (2009/10, 2010/11)

Six of seven titles in the City Cup (1993 to 2000, forerunner of the Challenge Cup): TUSEM Essen (1993/94), TV Niederwürzbach (1994/95), TuS Nettelstedt (1996/97, 1997/98), SG Flensburg-Handewitt (1998/99), TV Großwallstadt (1999/2000)

Three titles in the EHF Champions Trophy: SC Magdeburg (2001, 2002), THW Kiel (2007)

Previous competitions: 13 titles in the Champions’ Cup (forerunner of EHF Champions League) from 1956 to 1993, four titles in former IHF Cup (1982 - 1993), six titles in the previous Cup Winners’ Cup (1975-1993)